The city of Eilat now has the first air-conditioned “smart” bus stop in the world as part of a pilot program of Israel’s transportation ministry in cooperation with the Eilat municipality and the Egged bus company.

The air-conditioned bus stop has automatic sliding doors and digital signs with touch screens which enable passengers to receive real-time information about bus lines, schedules and tourist attractions.

The first “smart” bus stop was placed on Wednesday morning in a strategical location opposite the “Mul Hayam” mall at a bus stop used to travel to the southern part of the city, where many tourist attractions are located such as the Underwater Observatory, the Dolphin Reef and diving sites with coral reefs.

The bus stop, designed and manufactured by Root Industries to the tune of NIS 180,000 (funded by the transportation ministry), is equipped with cameras that broadcast directly to the 24-hour municipal hotline.

How #COOL is that?

The world's FIRST smart air-conditioned bus station was posted in Israel's southernmost city of Eilat, where tempratures in the #summer average at around 40°C (105°F). ☀️😎🧊🇮🇱pic.twitter.com/LIlxFCNQhz

— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) June 23, 2020

At the end of the month, another “smart” bus stop, will be placed on Sderot HaTamarim, the main street in the city.

Eilat, a tourist city which in normal times hosts 2.8 million tourists annually, has summer temperatures almost the whole year and in the hotter months averages about 105°F (40°C).

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)